Sexual offences

There is a wide range of criminal conduct that can be considered as sexual offences including rape and sexual assault, child sexual abuse and grooming, and crimes which exploit others for a sexual purpose, whether online or in person.

Sexual offences can occur between strangers, friends, family members, current and ex-partners. There is no typical victim of sexual offences, and there is no typical sex-offender. Sexual offending can occur in any walk of life. We are committed to ensuring that every report of crime we receive is dealt with efficiently and fairly in the public interest. We will do this no matter the background of the victim or perpetrator.

Consent is defined in section 12 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 and means “free agreement”. A person consents to sexual activity if they agree by choice, and they have the freedom and capacity to make that choice.

However, if a victim gives in due to threats, repeated demands, persistent psychological coercion, fear or because they simply feel unable to resist, that is not consent. A victim can, in some circumstances, simply let the sexual activity take place because they feel that is the only way they see the incident ending – that is not consent either.

If the victim is asleep or unconscious at the time, or they are incapable because of the effects of alcohol or drugs, the law states that they are not able to consent.

The age of consent in Scotland is 16.

Rape is defined as being committed when a person puts their penis into (penetrates) the vagina, anus or mouth of another person without their consent.

Sexual assault by penetration is committed when a person puts any other part of their body, or an object, into the vagina or anus of another person without their consent. Sexual assault is committed when a person touches another person sexually without their consent. The sexual touching can be done with any body part and includes use of an object.

Child sexual abuse can take many different forms including physical contact including rape or other penetrative sexual acts, masturbation, kissing and touching whether inside or outside of clothing.

Child sexual abuse may also include non-contact conduct such as indecent communications with children and online grooming, production and possession of indecent images of children and causing children to look at sexual images.

Such abuse can be committed by anyone, including other children.

Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is an independent judge-led inquiry set up in 2015 looking at the abuse of children in care in Scotland. The Inquiry will report the outcome of its investigations and make recommendations that it considers are required for the protection of children in future. COPFS is fully cooperating with the Inquiry.

Further information is available at: www.childabuseinquiry.scot

Disclosing private sexual images without consent (so-called ‘revenge pornography’) is a criminal offence in Scotland. An offence is committed if any person discloses (shares), or threatens to disclose, a photograph or film which shows, or appears to show, another person in an intimate situation.

Indecent images of children A child is any person under the age of 18. It is a criminal offence for any person to possess, take, permit to be taken, make, show or distribute, or publish an indecent image of a child. Images can include actual photographs or video footage, drawings and tracings or images created digitally. Making an indecent image is not just simply taking a photograph or video, it also includes downloading images from the internet, or opening an email attachment.

Extreme pornography includes all images which are obscene, pornographic and extreme. Possession of these images is criminal. The types of images which would be classed as extreme pornography would include a sexual image depicting extreme violence, rape or other non-consensual sexual activity, or images depicting sexual activity involving corpses and animals.

Reporting sexual crime can be very difficult for victims. All reports made to the police will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.

Further information is available at: Help for victims of sexual crime - Police Scotland. If you are not ready to tell the police, or are unsure, you can self-refer to the NHS Scotland Sexual Assault Response Co-ordination Service (SARCS).

SARCS staff will look after your health and wellbeing needs. If the assault happened within the last seven days, you may be offered a medical examination. Any evidence that is obtained at this examination will be securely stored for 26 months from the day of your examination giving you time to decide whether to report the matter to the police.

Further advice about SARCS is available at: Turn to SARCS | NHS inform

Once the police have done their investigations, they might report your case to us. We will decide on what action to take independently and in the public interest. We follow the process set out in the Prosecution Code.

As a victim of sexual crime, you will be offered additional support through the court process from our Victims Information and Advice (VIA) service.

VIA are here to help you understand how the Scottish criminal justice system works. You will be told what to expect at each stage of the process.

VIA will also organise any extra support you will need for giving evidence. VIA staff work closely with partner agencies and can put you in touch with other services to provide you with practical and emotional support. Further information about VIA is available at: Victim Information and Advice | COPFS

• Police Scotland
• Rape Crisis Scotland
• Victim Support Scotland